Annual emergency services college begins

About 500 first responders from across the state are taking advantage of training opportunities at the 29th Annual Central Piedmont Emergency Services College.

BY DARRICK IGNASIAKThe Dispatch

About 500 first responders from across the state are taking advantage of training opportunities at the 29th Annual Central Piedmont Emergency Services College over the weekend on the campus of Davidson County Community College.The emergency services college officially kicked off Friday and will continue through Sunday. It's sponsored by DCCC and the Davidson County Public Safety Association."It's great that we can get the students in here and get them exposed to some real-life situations and give them the opportunity to train with some of the best instructors throughout the state," said Dwight Freeman, fire and rescue coordinator with DCCC.About 40 classes will be held through the three-day weekend. Some of the classes touch on the topics of agriculture rescue, hazardous materials, CPR and personal protective equipment.The agriculture rescue class is being held on a farm. There, students will learn techniques, such as how to treat a situation like if a farmer was to become caught up in machinery."That's probably the most physically and demanding class for the students, where they will be working," Freeman said. The emergency services college is essential for first responders."Opportunities like this that not only exposes them to these type of training exercises, but it also lets them kind of network amongst themselves and share how they may do it at the eastern part of the state versus how here in the northern part or mid-section of the Carolinas, how we may address the issues," Freeman said.The local fire departments, Freeman said, are essential in providing equipment for the three-day weekend. "To run a program like this requires so much equipment, and so much time and effort," he said. "If we didn't have the support of our local departments here in Davidson County, and even surrounding counties, we just couldn't do it."Lee Sawyer and Lee Hamilton, both firefighters with the Fair Grove Volunteer Fire Department, Laura Ryggs, a firefighter with the Lexington Fire Department, and Joshua Brown, a firefighter with the Hasty Volunteer Fire Department, were taking the emergency service college's hazardous materials responder class Friday morning.Sawyer has been with the Fair Grove Volunteer Fire Department for 11 years, He's been to the emergency services college for eight or nine years, he said."It's very important," Sawyer said. "It's good training, good atmosphere and good experience."Hamilton has been with the Fair Grove Volunteer Fire Department for four months. He is attending his first emergency services college at DCCC."It's a good class, very knowledgeable instructors," Hamilton said of the hazardous materials class. "I think we are going to take a lot away from his class."Ryggs has been with the Lexington Fire Department since November. She also is a volunteer with the A-RC-H Volunteer Fire Department. Ryggs joined the volunteer fire department about two weeks ago.When it comes to this weekend, Ryggs said she is looking forward to hearing everybody's stories."They've got a lot more experience than I do," she said. "That's how you learn — experience."Brown has been with the Hasty Volunteer Fire Department for eight years; four of those years were as a junior firefighter. "A lot of us get to work together or if we don't get to work together out on the field, we get to work together here," Brown said. "So if we do have a massive incident, we kind of know faces and know we can trust one another and make the best of it."Sam Olshinski is a fire specialist with the Thomasville Fire Department. He also is teaching the 38-hour hazardous materials class for the emergency services college at DCCC. Because of the length of the class, it actually started Thursday and will end Sunday."It gives them an overview of hazardous material that they could encounter in the field," Olshinski said. "It teaches them how to be able to recognize the chemical or hazard and the protective measures, such as evacuating people away from the hazard, some control measures, like if it gets into a creek or it is running down a parking lot."Olshinski said his class is often taught over a month. He said this weekend classes allow firefighters, emergency medical technicians, paramedics and rescue personnel to get the courses they need completed at one time, which is important for first responders who are volunteers and have full-time jobs."They are away from their family, but they are getting the classes they need," Olshinski said.Family events, which are free and open to the public, will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in the college's Public Safety Building parking lot. There will be activities for children, and representatives from various public safety agencies will be on hand. Some of the activities for families include the opportunity to ride Operation Lifesaver Train; climb aboard fire trucks, medical helicopters and ambulances; and put out fires in the fire simulator.Darrick Ignasiak can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 217, or darrick.ignasiak@the-dispatch.com.